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Harry Redknapp on why Tim Sherwood's hands were tied at Aston Villa

The loss of several key men over the summer made Sherwood's task a near impossible one, according to Redknapp.

Former QPR boss Harry Redknapp has claimed that the odds were always stacked against Tim Sherwood after the losses of Fabian Delph, Christian Benteke and Ron Vlaar this summer.

Villa put the bulk of the transfer fees received back into squad in a bid to remain competitive, but have yet to click into gear this season and look in danger of drifting.

Redknapp has sympathy for Sherwood’s situation and believes that any team would struggle to cope with a similar loss.

“You can’t replace them, you look at any team… look at Man City. I went to watch them play Tottenham the other week and suddenly they’ve got key players missing,” he told the ‘Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast’ show on talkSPORT this morning (aired at 08:50).

“No Kompany, no Joe Hart, no Silva and in the last couple of weeks no Aguero – they’re a completely different team… It’s very difficult when you lose key players.”

Replacing those key figures was always going to be a big ask for the Villains and their approach in targeting foreign players with high potential hasn’t paid off.

Proven Premier League players with experience in a relegation dogfight would have better served the club’s current predicament, but hindsight is 20/20.

There was much excitement surrounding the new signings and they are undoubtedly a talented bunch but whether or not they can be moulded into a cohesive unit in time to avoid relegation is another matter entirely.